Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

English Freeports Update

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: My Honourable friend the Minister for Levelling Up (Dehenna Davison MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:Today I am announcing another major milestone for the flagship UK Freeports programme, with two further English Freeports – Freeport East and Liverpool City Region Freeport – now fully up and running after receiving final government approval. Both of these Freeports will now receive £25 million of seed funding and potentially hundreds of millions in locally retained business rates to upgrade local infrastructure and stimulate regeneration. This is alongside a generous package of trade and innovation support for businesses locating there.This significant milestone is an important step on the Freeports journey and sends a clear message: the UK Government is backing these places as a key part of its economic strategy.Freeports are at the heart of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. They will unlock much-needed investment into port communities and their hinterlands. This in turn will help these areas overcome the barriers holding them back and bring jobs and opportunity to some of the UK’s historically overlooked communities.Freeports catalyse investment through a combination of tax reliefs on new economic activity, a special streamlined customs procedure, an ambitious programme of public investment, and wide-ranging support from the UK Government to help businesses trade, invest, and innovate.Excellent progress has been made with delivery: investors can now take advantage of tax reliefs in all eight English Freeports and are starting to do so, and we expect the remaining three English Freeports to join Plymouth, Solent, Teesside, Liverpool City Region, and Freeport East in receiving final approvals shortly.This Government also remains committed to ensuring that all four corners of the UK can reap the benefits of our Freeports programme. We have recently concluded competitions for two Green Freeports in Scotland and a Freeport in Wales, and we will announce the winning locations in due course. We also continue discussions with stakeholders in Northern Ireland about how best to deliver the benefits associated with Freeports there.

Department for Education

Education Update

Baroness Barran: My Right Honourable Friend the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon), has made the following statement.Today, I am notifying Parliament of the next stage in the government’s review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England – the publication of new criteria for alternative academic and technical qualifications funded from 2025.In July 2021, we published the government response to the second stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. Here, we made clear our intentions to streamline the qualifications landscape, simplify choices for students and only fund qualifications that are high quality and lead to good progression outcomes. It is vitally important for social mobility to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, is able to access the education and skills opportunities which lead to good jobs.The reforms are taking place in 3 stages.In July 2022, we completed the first phase of streamlining the qualifications landscape by removing funding approval from around 5,500 qualifications at level 3 and below in England, which had very low numbers or no new students enrolled on themBy August 2025, we will also have removed funding approval from qualifications which overlap with our new, highly rigorous T Levels, so that T Levels have the space they need to flourish as the main technical route for 16-19 year olds. In October 2022, we published details of the first 106 qualifications that will have funding approval removed from 1 August 2024 because they overlap with a T Level in Education and Childcare, Digital, or Construction and the Built Environment. Funding approval will also be removed from qualifications which overlap with the Health and Science T Levels and we will publish this list once the review of the outline content of those T Levels has concluded. Funding approval will be removed in August 2025 for qualifications which overlap with T Levels in waves 3 and 4 (Legal, Finance and Accounting; Engineering and Manufacturing; Business and Administration; Hair and Beauty; Catering and Hospitality; Creative and Design; and Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care). A provisional list of these qualifications will be published in spring 2023.From August 2025, all alternative academic and technical qualifications in scope of the review will be required to demonstrate that they serve a clear and distinct purpose and meet new quality and funding criteria, irrespective of the T Level overlap assessment process. Details of the new approval process, which all qualifications at level 3 in scope of the review must go through in order to be publicly funded from 2025, are being published today. This includes full details of the types of qualifications and subjects that we will fund, and the criteria that awarding organisations must meet to secure funding approval.For academic qualifications this includes progression to higher education, evidence of demand and a clear statement of why the qualification is needed. Technical qualifications will be required to meet new occupational relevance and employer demand tests developed by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). This will ensure that technical qualifications deliver the content that truly matter to employers, and that the skills system is simpler for learners, training providers and employers to navigate. All qualifications must also meet regulatory requirements set by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).Our reforms do not constitute a binary choice between T Levels and A levels. We have listened to feedback and recognise the need for additional qualifications, including alternative qualifications such as some BTECs designed to be taken as part of a mixed study programme including A levels. These alternative qualifications are an important part of how we will support diverse student needs and deliver skills that employers need for a productive future economy, in areas that A levels and T Levels do not cover. In addition, the T Level Transition Programme provides a high-quality route onto T Levels, for students who would benefit from the additional study time and preparation that it will give them before they start their T Level.The government also recognises that there are still too many people who are being held back by poor maths. The Prime Minister has set out his intention that all students in England should study some form of maths to age 18, to ensure they are better equipped for the jobs of the future. Further detail on this measure will be set out at a later date.Today’s announcement marks the start of the final stage of the reforms to post-16 qualifications and will give the education sector clarity on the shape of the future post-16 qualifications landscape.I look forward to engaging with parliamentarians and colleagues in awarding bodies and further education as we implement these important reforms.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

First Launch of Satellites from Cornwall

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has today made the following statement:Last night, Virgin Orbit attempted the first orbital launch from Spaceport Cornwall. Unfortunately, the launch was unsuccessful. We will work closely with Virgin Orbit as they investigate what caused the failure in the coming days and weeks. While a failed launch is disappointing, launching a spacecraft always carries significant risks. Despite this, the project has succeeded in creating a horizontal launch capability at Spaceport Cornwall, and we remain committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030, with vertical launches planned from Scotland in the next year.

Update on Statutory Deadline for Planning Decision

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has today made the following statement:This Statement concerns an application for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by Alternative Use Boston Projects Limited for the construction and operation of an energy from waste facility at Boston in Lincolnshire.Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the Examining Authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a Statement to Parliament to announce it. The current statutory deadline for the decision on the Boston Alternative Energy Facility application is 10 January 2023.I have decided to set a new deadline of no later than 6 July 2023 for deciding this application. This is to enable my Department to seek further information from the Applicant and to ensure there is sufficient time to allow for consideration of this information by other interested parties.The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.

Treasury

Economic Update

Baroness Penn: My honourable friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Cartlidge) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.Following a review of the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS), the Government today announces a new energy support scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector. The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) will provide all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the EBRS in March 2023. This will help businesses locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again. This further support follows the government’s unprecedented package for non-domestic users through this winter through the EBRS, worth £18 billion per the figures certified by the OBR at the Autumn Statement. At Autumn Statement, we were clear that such levels of support, unprecedented in its nature and scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt. Wholesale energy prices are falling and have now gone back to levels just before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But to avoid a cliff-edge for businesses and provide reassurance against the risk of prices rising again we are launching the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, giving them the certainty they need to plan ahead. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion based on estimated volumes. Through the scheme, from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, eligible non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a unit discount of up to £6.97/MWh automatically applied to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61/MWh applied to their electricity bill, except for those benefitting from lower energy prices. The relative discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a price threshold of £302/MWh for electricity and £107/MWh for gas. A substantially higher level of support will be provided to businesses in sectors identified as being the most energy and trade intensive – predominately manufacturing industries. A long-standing category associated with higher energy usage, these firms are often less able to pass through cost to their customers due to international competition. Businesses in scope will receive a gas and electricity bill discount based on a price threshold, which will be capped by a maximum unit discount of £40.0/MWh for gas and £89.1/MWh for electricity. This discount will only apply to 70% of energy volumes and will apply above a price threshold of £185/MWh for electricity and £99/MWh for gas. This government is committed to supporting UK business and the voluntary sector, and through this package we aim to give organisations the certainty they need to plan through next winter.